“Jungle Cruise 2” is not moving forward at Disney, according to stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
“I don’t think so,” the pair said during an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Friday. They explained that the film’s sequel was impacted by “new leadership” after COVID.
“I think when Disney came under new leadership, they just shifted coming out of COVID,” Johnson, who also served as a producer on the first film, shared. “COVID shifted our business in a lot of ways. I think they looked at that property and thought, We did it once, not sure if we should revisit it again. Despite whether or not our chemistry was great.”
Blunt chimed in, adding: “They did not want to set sail again, and that’s fine.”
Disney did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“Jungle Cruise,” which also stars McGregor Houghton, Jesse Plemons, Édgar Ramírez and Paul Giamatti, hit theaters back in July 2021 and grossed $221 million at the global box office.
The film was inspired by Walt Disney’s beloved Jungle Cruise boat attraction that made its mark at California’s Disneyland in 1955.
Rumors that a sequel to “Jungle Cruise” was on its way were circulating over the past few years. In November 2021, “Jungle Cruise” producer Hiram Garcia teased a “much bigger” sequel to TheWrap.
“I think one thing fans can expect is our heroes covering more territory,” Garcia said at the time. “Our first movie mainly went between London and the Amazon, but for this next adventure we have much bigger plans. That coupled with the joy of seeing how Frank and Lilly’s relationship continues to evolve are just a few of the many things we’ve been having fun playing with as we break story.”
Michael Green, who co-wrote “Jungle Cruise,” also came back in to pen the screenplay for the sequel at the time, which Garcia said was a priority for his Seven Bucks Productions and for Disney.
“We loved making that movie, and not only making that movie but the family that we created coming off of it,” Garcia said during the interview. “We love Emily Blunt and can’t do enough with her; she’s become such a close friend to the production team and the filmmakers. Her and DJ are the best of friends and have been deeply involved with us on development. We have an idea of what we want to do and the adventure we want to take these guys on. It’s a big priority for us and Disney, and we can’t wait to take the fans on another ride with this group.”
